Warsaw in Winter With Warming Wedel Wonders

Warsaw is lovely in winter. It really is. I know it is hard for many to believe, especially those Australians who are afraid of temperatures that are single figures, let alone subzero. I mean, it is lovely, if you can ignore frozen fingers, fogged up glasses, nostrils that burn if you breath in through them, and feet changing to be non-circulating ones, then it is even better.

It gives me a hugely different perspective on the world that I live in. How things just seem more magical when they are covered in white fluffy stuff, not like the shoulders of a dandruff sufferer. But snow.

One of the best things has to be the different hats that people wear. One day I will have to sit down and take photos of them all. For the mean time you have to look at this rag tag bunch.
I think if you are wearing a hat that is just practical, then it is a little boring, Winter fashions as a whole are bland and boring, so why not wear something nice on your head. Therefore I support Pandas, Koalas, and Bears making winter appearances.

As I read in my current Peter Carey novel "Oscar and Lucinda":

"Practical is the word dull men use when they wish to hide the poverty of their imagination"
So it is Pandas all the way with Marty.
Also Winter is great for the fact that the shop displays are full of festive cheer as well as the fact that it gets dark at 3pm so they seem to be more vibrant. This photo above is one of my favourites.
Here we have my sister and wife's addiction, Zielony Kot - the green cat. It is full of hand crafted masterpieces and things that others love to walk through every freaking day they are in Warsaw. Yes, I mean my sister should have got frequent flyer miles there.
Even the Restaurants get on board, this is one of our favourites to take international visitors, CK. The food is decent, the restaurant is central and the prices are good too. It is even better with the smoking ban in place!
A couple of photos for the boys and the female fashionistas, I always bang on about how Polish girls dress far too nicely, even for the conditions. This was a bitterly cold day about -8C with added wind chill and a high potential for snow and here we have a young lady in a miniskirt and crazy high heels.
It had the desired effect on these two likely looking blokes.

Something that we LOVE to do in Winter (Spring, Summer and Autumn) in Wawa is to head into Pijalnia Wedel (alas the website is only in Polish), I know I have posted about them before (and I will probably again), but in Winter it really takes on added meaning. A Hot Chocolate with Whisky or Chilli is a great warmer for a chilly day.
At most times on a cold Warsaw weekend or even weekday afternoon in summer, you will find this place heaving. A lot of the time you may even have to wait for a seat. As you can see by the intense discussions by those inside, it is a place of interest.
So here are a few of the founding fathers of Wedel.
This one has to have been a chemist.
This one was probably chief taster.
The place was a buzz of action and even gingers gets treated equally.
The things that come out are just fabulous delicious, but not overly nutritious.
The place has plenty of history and hours of serenity.
The boys don't look impressed but that was because I told them I had ordered them a diet, caffeine and sugar free, soy, carob drink. But I hadn't, and wouldn't ever do that to anyone that I would privilege with taking to the Wedel Tearooms, especially in Winter.